Hyderabad: ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ makers booked for death of horse during shooting

Hyderabad: Following the death of a horse during the shooting of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, a Tamil multi-starrer movie being directed by ace director Mani Ratnam, the Abdullapurmet police have booked a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the animal’s caretaker. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, in a statement on […]

Hyderabad: Following the death of a horse during the shooting of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, a Tamil multi-starrer movie being directed by ace director Mani Ratnam, the Abdullapurmet police have booked a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the animal’s caretaker.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, in a statement on Thursday said, based on “whistle-blower reports”, the horse was involved in a head-on collision and died during the shooting of the film in Hyderabad. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) also called on the Hyderabad Collector and the Telangana State Animal Welfare Board to conduct an enquiry into the death. It also asked officials to ensure that those involved in the incident receive “exemplary punishment” so that such cruelty against animals is not repeated.

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The Abdullapurmet police had booked a case against the management of Madras Talkies and the owner of the horse under Section 11 of the PCA Act, 1960, and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code. The owner is reported to have allowed producers of the film to keep using horses that were tired and dehydrated.

“In the age of computer-generated imagery (CGI), production companies have no excuse for forcing exhausted horses to play at war until one of them drops dead,” PETA India Chief Advocacy Officer Khushboo Gupta said in the statement.

“PETA India is calling on director Mani Ratnam to cut the cruelty and switch to modern and humane CGI and other visual-effects technology. It urges film, advertising, television, and digital content producers to use CGI, visual effects, and animatronics instead of forcing live animals to perform,” the statement read.

PETA India has also offered a reward of Rs 25,000 for a video or photograph of the incident in which the horse died, which may help lead to the culprits’ arrests. Such evidence should be shared with PETA India at Info@petaindia.org.